Glen Elgin Distillery: The Heart of White Horse
Glen Elgin at a glance
| Region | Speyside (near Elgin, Moray) |
| Founded | 1900 |
| Owner | Diageo |
| Visitor centre | No — production-only |
| Tours | No public tours |
| Opening | Not open to the public |
| Website | malts.com |
Overview
Glen Elgin was one of the last distilleries built in the great Victorian boom. It was completed at Fogwatt, south of Elgin, by William Simpson and James Carle in 1898, just as the whisky crash began. For most of its life it has been the heart of the White Horse blend, and it has been sold as a single malt since 1977. It is a small, traditional Diageo distillery with a fruity, honeyed spirit. Its water comes from springs near Millbuies Loch.
Where it is
The distillery is at Fogwatt on the A941, about 3 miles south of Elgin on the road to Rothes, close to Longmorn and BenRiach. Millbuies Country Park, with its loch, is just to the east. Inverness is about 1 hour west.
The full history
1898: the end of the boom
In the 1890s new distilleries were opening across Speyside almost every year. William Simpson and James Carle built Glen Elgin in 1898, with the architect Charles Doig. It is often said that Doig predicted it would be the last distillery built in Speyside for fifty years, and he was nearly right. Within months of opening, the Pattison crash had hit the trade, and the new distillery struggled.
White Horse
After changes of ownership, Glen Elgin became a key malt for White Horse blended whisky, named after the old White Horse Cellar coaching inn in Edinburgh. In 1936 Scottish Malt Distillers, part of the Distillers Company, took it over. Glen Elgin has been one of the main malts in White Horse ever since.
Single malt and Diageo
Glen Elgin was first sold as a single malt in 1977. The Distillers Company became United Distillers in 1987, and in 1997 the distillery passed to Diageo. Over the years it has released 12-, 16-, 20- and 32-year-old bottlings. Today the 12-year-old is the regular release.
Glen Elgin has always been a working distillery rather than a showpiece, but whisky writers often rate it highly. Its rich, fruity character has been called one of the hidden gems of Speyside.
How it’s made
Glen Elgin has three wash stills (7,000 litres) and three spirit stills (8,000 litres), with a capacity of about 1.8 million litres a year. Water comes from springs near Millbuies Loch. The spirit is fruity and honeyed, a classic Speyside style that suits a smooth blend.
Clans, bishops & the Wolf
- Elgin Cathedral, burned in 1390 by the Wolf of Badenoch, a son of Robert II. Its ruins are among the finest in Scotland. See Clan Stewart.
- The Inneses and the Gordons held much of the surrounding land. See Clan Gordon.
- Spynie Palace, north of Elgin, was the castle of the Bishops of Moray.
Lochs, abbeys & stones
- Millbuies Loch, in a wooded country park beside the distillery, has a lochside walk and trout fishing. See our lochs guide.
- Pluscarden Abbey, west of Elgin, founded in 1230 and home again to monks since 1948.
- Sueno’s Stone, Forres, Scotland’s tallest Pictish cross-slab. See our standing stones guide.
Elgin’s whisky ring
The country around Elgin holds one of the densest clusters of distilleries anywhere. Along a few miles of the Rothes road you pass Glen Elgin, Longmorn, BenRiach, Glenlossie and Mannochmore. Linkwood, Glen Moray and Miltonduff are on the edge of the town. In Elgin itself, the independent bottler Gordon & MacPhail has sold Speyside whisky from its South Street shop since 1895.
Visiting
Glen Elgin is production only, with no visitor centre or tours. For a tour nearby, Glen Moray in Elgin and BenRiach both welcome visitors.
Nearby distilleries
- Longmorn and BenRiach (about 1 mile).
- Glenlossie and Mannochmore (about 2 miles).
- Linkwood and Glen Moray, Elgin (about 3 miles).
- Lagavulin, Islay: the other great malt of the Mackie family behind White Horse.
The Speyside Whisky Trail and the whisky hub cover the region.